Juan Pablo Angel is heading west to be with the LA Galaxy. (Getty Images)

Much like last week’s stage one, if you blinked you missed something. Stage 2 of the MLS Re-Entry Draft went by in a flurry over Twitter earlier today. With every club and nearly every other fan following along to the draft the tweets made it nearly impossible to keep up. But the dust has settled and the draft is over.

There were only a couple real shockers in this draft. A total of 11 picks in two rounds (I had no idea there would be two round) saw some big names move across the MLS landscape.

Round 1

• D.C. United: Josh Wolff
• Chivas USA: Jimmy Conrad
• New England Revolution: Ryan Cochrane
• LA Galaxy: Juan Pablo Angel
• Chicago Fire: Cory Gibbs
• Sporting KC: Frankie Hejduk
• Seattle Sounders: Chris Seitz
• Columbus Crew: Jeff Cunningham
• LA Galaxy: Luke Sassano
• Colorado Rapids: Tyrone Marshall

Round 2

• New England Revolution: Fred

Philadelphia, Portland, Vancouver, Dallas, Houston, New York, RSL, San Jose and Toronto all passed on picks.

Pick-by-pick Thoughts:

DC takes Wolff - First thought was why Wolff? Getting two decent strikers in the Re-Entry draft (they took Joseph Ngwenya in Stage 1) shows they got a lot of work still to do here. Wolff has a connection to manager Ben Olsen which is fine but its funny that DC continues to take former Curt Onalfo guys from KC.

Chivas takes Conrad – As long as Conrad signs this deal is great for Chivas. He’s a proven leader and someone that can instantly improve their chances in 2011.

New England takes Cochrane and Fred – A defensive pick, not bad but at the same time not great. He’s what they are looking for in cheap, experienced defenders though.

As for the Fred pick, I had no idea there was a second round to this as the Revs were the only club to pick in that round. I guess this is a decent pickup for them as they do need some upgrades in the midfield. I’m just not so sure this is the right fit.

LA takes Angel and Sassano – LA trades away a 4th rounder in 2014 (haha 2014!) to Houston and takes JPA. Their search for a second striker is over with that pick. If he does sign it will easily put LA in the discussion for MLS Cup contenders again in 2011. Getting him signed under the cap won’t be easy though as I’d imagine he’ll have to be a third DP.

As for the Sassano pick, don’t sleep on it. Its a very solid pick by Bruce Arena. He gets some fairly cheap, experienced defensive cover to help build up their depth in the back.

Chicago takes Gibbs – With Wilman Conde out of the way now this pick made perfect sense for the Fire. Gibbs is signed and ready to go to the Fire according to the club. Now if he can only stay healthy it will be a very solid steal for the club.

Sporting KC take Hejduk – A pick I love as long as they are able to agree on terms. Hejduk adds some veteran leadership to their backline now that Conrad is gone and you know the fans there will love him.

Seattle takes Seitz – There was some pre-draft speculation that he’d be going to Dallas today. That made little sense to me as does him going to Seattle. I feel this is more trade bait than anything else though if he signs he will be a decent backup in waiting behind Kasey Keller.

Columbus takes Cunningham – I told a couple people around here today that if Cunningham didn’t get picked in the draft he’d stay in Dallas however if he did get picked it would be by the Crew. Cunningham heads back to the place where it all began for him. Got a feeling the locals there will be fairly happy with this pick too.

Colorado take Marshall – Could be one of the most underrated picks of the draft. Marshall adds to their defensive depth and adds even more veteran leadership to the club.

Jimmy Conrad and Josh Wolff will be called to lead in 2010 for KC. (WVH Photo Correspondent Brian Stevens)

We’re continuing on today with our look at each Major League Soccer club’s pre-season outlook of what players they have on board and where they need to go next before the new season kicks off. So far we’ve covered nearly half of the league with Chicago, Colorado, Chivas, Columbus, DC, Dallas, Houston and Philadelphia all already looked at here.

Today we go to the middle of the country to take a look at the Kansas City Wizards and what coach/technical director Peter Vermes is doing with his club.

The Wizards had a shaky season in 2009 but they hope a few changes around their roster will be enough to stay with the top of the pack in an already tough eastern conference.

So let’s see what the Wizards have done with their winter and where they need to go from here.

Keepers:

Who they have: Jimmy Nielsen, Eric Kronberg, and Boris Pardo.

Notes: Gone are the days of Kevin Hartman and now come the time for Nielsen. A lot of folks in KC probably aren’t too happy to see Hartman be let go so easily here but as I mentioned last week it was a change I think the club needed to make this winter. Look I’ve always had a great deal of respect for Hartman but sometimes change is necessary and this was just a move I think they needed to make. I’m also not saying Nielsen will be any better but Hartman wasn’t exactly putting KC over the top.

I know the club currently has a couple other trialist in camp right now so it will be interesting to see who pushes to be Nielsen’s backup this year.

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Defense:

Who they have: Jimmy Conrad, Chance Myers, Michael Harrington, Matt Besler, Lance Watson, Aaron Hohlbein, Jonathan Leathers, Pablo Escobar, Olukorede Aiyegbusi, and Nick Cardenas.

Notes: Collectively on paper they should be a better group then what we’ve seen over the last couple years. I may be putting too much of a premium on Conrad here, he’s a great leader out there but maybe he just isn’t able to get the rest of these guys up to his level and the group suffers for it. I honestly don’t know because again on paper they look like they should be good with guys like Besler (very underrated player) and Harrington (another solid player) but last year they were up there in goals against with 42.

I think though with Vermes coaching this bunch full time we’ll see some improvement in this bunch this year. I honestly have no idea what Escobar will bring to the table but if we base anything off past moves from South America from this club the expectations shouldn’t be placed too high for him (remember Carlos Marinelli or Eloy Colombano?). Hopefully he turns out better for them.

Big question for me though is will Myers finally become the number one pick that KC had hoped for two years ago? I still don’t know who got the better end of that deal between San Jose and the Wizards. Right now its starting to be a push more than anything as neither have seen a big impact from the players involved. Nick Garcia was traded last year to Toronto and Myers really never grew as a player in year two.

Still this group is fairly young so hopefully things are going to be looking up for them as some of these young guys finally hit their stride here.

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Midfield:

Who they have: Santiago Hirsig, Roger Espinoza, Jack Jewsbery, Kurt Morsink, Davy Arnaud, Kevin Souter, Graham Zusi, Stéphane Auvray, and Marco Fuzetti.

Notes: I like Espinoza, Jewsbery and Arnaud but the rest I’m a bit torn with as I think they have potential with guys like Zusi and newcomer Auvray. Still my worry is where will the offense be generated from this within this bunch? They honestly cannot expect Arnaud to carry the load this season. I know to a lesser extent Claudio Lopez is more of an offensive midfielder than a striker these days but that won’t cut it.

Another area I worry about is wing play for this bunch. One area they got burned in a lot of games last year was on the wings, especially on their short home field. If I’m Vermes I’d be finding talent to go on the wings as well as a true playmaker in the middle.

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Forwards:

Who they have: Claudio Lopez, Josh Wolff, Teal Bunbury, Zoltan, Kei Kamara, and Michael Kraus.

Notes: This was an area that Vermes had to concentrate over the winter months on and I think with drafting Bunbury and the new contract to Kamara he has done a pretty good job with here. The big thing will be whether or not Bunbury makes an impact in year one or not. Some reports from the training camps suggest he isn’t done all that well so far with KC but I think given the right amount of time he’ll be fine.

Kamara is said to be doing very well in KC right now and honestly I think he likes being there which is a good thing for both sides. He’s got a chance this year to really step things up and be a solid scorer for the Wizards.

The big thing will be getting Wolff involved a lot more this year. We saw last year that when used properly up top Wolff can be a very productive goal scorer for the Wizards. I think Vermes knows how to use Wolff right and with Lopez too. That’s a good thing because they need another 10+ goal year from Wolff and eight to 10 assists from Lopez to be in contention in the east. As long as those two hit those numbers and Kamara and Bunbury combine for another 10 or 14 goals they will be much better offensively than from a year ago.

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Overall:

Going into a new year Kansas City is a club I like but honestly don’t love just yet. Defensively I worry about them on the wings and in the center part of the midfield. I’m also still concerned about who will be generating the offense in the midfield this year. Offensively I do believe they’ll be much better than from a year ago as long as the guys up top are given the right space to be productive.

Conrad has to step up a bit more in the back to lead this young group and if he does I think the club will improve in the standings. They’re schedule won’t be as tight in the summer with SuperLiga and we shouldn’t expect to see many international call-ups for players on their roster except for maybe Conrad and Espinoza. I actually see Espinoza getting more international time than Conrad this year anyways.

I think Vermes needs another move or two in the midfield and they’ll be fine. I’ll be curious to see how they perform early on as they typically start well but fade in the summer.

In a way its a make or break year for Vermes. He’s built this club as a TD and now must lead them as the full-time coach. I don’t know if he’ll be under any sort of hot seat yet if they don’t do well this year but you gotta believe fans won’t be happy if they are near the bottom again in the standings in 2010.

Jimmy Conrad and Josh Wolff lead the way in 2009 for Kansas City. (WVH Photo Correspondent Brian Stevens)

The bandwagon was getting bigger for this club going into 2009. Many folks had hoped this was the year the Kansas City Wizards would get over the hump and make a big splash in the eastern conference.

But 2009 didn’t go as planned like some in Kansas City had hoped. The team stumbled out of the gate losing their first two games and some already had questions on the offense that was lacking. Then a funny thing happened in April things looked like they were headed in the right direction when former coach Curt Onalfo started using Josh Wolff at striker instead of on the wings. The club won three games out of the five in the month and looked good.

Then May and June rolled around and the Wizards won only two of their next seven league games while losing one and drawing two in SuperLiga play. From there on things turned sour for good on the season. The Wizards went through July and August winless and saw Onalfo get canned after a 6-0 beating in Dallas. Peter Vermes stepped in after that but he never was able to get the team back over the hump as the club failed to reach the post season.

What Went Right In 2009?
The club did have some success in tough stadiums like in Seattle and in Salt Lake. When guys like Josh Wolff and Claudio Lopez were healthy and playing in the right spots on the field things would click offensively. Defensively things went well when Jimmy Conrad was leading the way in the back. It seemed that when they won games it was by a shutout too. There are a few decent pieces in defense with this club that they can build on for sure.

What Went Wrong In 2009?
A lot went wrong as the writing was on the wall for Onalfo’s head for a long while. Most people didn’t want to admit to it in KC but it certainly was there for all to see. Secondly they had one of the worst home records in the league which usually means you don’t go very far. Lastly I just never felt Vermes and the owners put enough into this team this season. Their lack of movement with their roster was rather pathetic. Now I know the economy could have had something to do with that but they were one of the few teams that rarely made a move this year. Things were broke and they just failed to fix it.

What’s Next?
First of all they have to figure out their coaching issue, is Vermes going to stay or is he going to move back into the technical director/general manager role. Finding a coach that can get the most out of this group will be key. I think next in line for this bunch is really fixing a midfield that is so damaged. I know injuries played a part in their issues but for the most part it was a lack of consistency with this group that caused a lot of things in 2009. Secondly they need a go-to scorer with Wolff. I know Claudio Lopez is a good setup man but even he needs more help. Lastly it may be time to move on from Kevin Hartman in goal. This club has a good fan base and they definitely deserve some attention to their roster by this ownership.

The best goal for me was either Sainey Nyassi’s run against New York or Brad Davis’ strike against RSL.

(Note QuickKicks on the league site did not have the Columbus/Chicago goals)

Order of video: David Beckham, Edson Buddle, Brian Ching, Yura Movsisyan, Brad Davis, Dax McCarty, Jimmy Conrad, Sainey Nyassi, and John Wolyneic.

Some clubs will get games in the middle of a long week like DC and Toronto. While a couple sides are off all together Chivas (thanks to the X-Games) and New York (thanks to the CCL). Then there is LA who host a big time friendly against FC Barcelona on Saturday.

As always feel free to leave your score predictions below to this week’s action.

Saturday:

Toronto FC – at – New England Revolution:

Have the Revs turned a corner here on their season? The last two games would certainly suggest that. Plus now they get a Toronto side that could be a bit gassed from having to play in the CCL tournament this week. All signs could be pointing upward for Steve Nicol’s crew if they can get three points this weekend. With the games in hand they can certainly catch Toronto this weekend with a win. Another good thing for Revs fan, Toronto doesn’t score in New England. Three games at Gillett Stadium, three loss, 1 goal for and nine against. I see New England keeping up with that run this weekend. They’ll do good to control the pace of this game and find a way past a suspect Toronto defense. I do see TFC getting on the board with Ali Gerba though, he’s just the strker they’ve been looking for here. It’s just their defense isn’t good enough right now to win games on the road.

WVH Prediction: New England 2, Toronto 1

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Kansas City Wizards – at – FC Dallas:

What to make of Dallas now without Kenny Cooper? Well, we’ve pretty much gotten a good idea of that over the last month or so when he was gone at the Gold Cup. KC rolls into town looking for points and a way to get back into the playoff discussion here. No doubt this is a very do-or-die match for KC. They may have games in hand but they won’t get many chances to beat a club like Dallas for a while here. KC gets Jimmy Conrad and Davy Arnuad back in this one and that will be good enough to beat a Dallas squad looking for answers to close down Claudio Lopez and company. Dallas has to generate some offense early and keep KC off the board late. If Dave van den Burgh and Jeff Cunningham can do that Dallas may earn at least a point here. I’ll go with a draw just for that even though I kind of see KC walking out of Frisco with three points.

WVH Prediction: Dallas 1, KC 1

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Real Salt Lake – at – Chicago Fire:

Will RSL ever turn a corner for good on the road? Will Chicago start stepping up their play at home? I think those two questions will be answered this weekend in some way or another. Chicago has been so-so at home beating only San Jose and New York at Toyota Park. RSL on the other hand as we all know is not the best road side in the league. RSL hasn’t found consistent play on the road yet this season and even though Chicago hasn’t turned on the flames at home yet I do believe it starts this weekend. They need points to stay with Columbus and the rest of the top part of the eastern conference. Don’t count a draw out of this one though, with the way RSL scores they could do it early to Chicago the way they did it late to Dallas a week ago. Thing is with Wilman Conde and Bakery Soumare in the back I just don’t see RSL getting too many by the Fire this weekend. I’m going with the homeside here, but only by a narrow margin.

WVH Prediction: Chicago 1, RSL 0

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DC United – at – Houston Dynamo:

Probably game of the week material here. Both teams really do need a pick up based on recent form and I don’t see a reason why Houston won’t be the club to come out on top in this one. Dominic Kinnear will get the bulk of his lineup back from the Gold Cup and that should be enough for me at home. I see Houston controlling the midfield since DC will be without Clyde Simms. It will be interesting to see who has more gas in them though, DC who played midweek game in the CCL or Houston’s all-stars (Brad Davis and Geoff Cameron) who played a full 90 minutes against Everton. I think in the end Houston returns to winning because I just don’t see them dropping two in a row at home here. I do expect DC to make a run late though.

WVH Prediction: Houston 2, DC 1

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Columbus Crew – at – Colorado Rapids:

Columbus continues to prove to us all that they can win and win big without Gillermo Barros Schelotto. Thing is can they do it on the road in Colorado? Winning in the Mile High City is tough enough and with the way the Rapids played last week you can bet they are rested enough to do it again if Columbus let them. Jason Garey and Steven Lehart have stepped up bigger than ever and now the Crew get striker Alejandro Moreno back. I just don’t know if that will be enough to get three against the Rapids. A draw sounds good here in this one because the Rapids get Conor Casey back in the fold as well. Expect this to be the best game this weekend as these two battle to a very tough draw.

WVH Prediction: Colorado 1, Columbus 1

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Sunday:

Seattle Sounders FC – at – San Jose Earthquakes:

Seattle will be without Freddie Ljungberg in this one but I think the bigger loss in this game goes to San Jose who may be without striker Ryan Johnson. We’ve seen time and time again that this club is better with Johnson leading the attack. Without him they are pretty boring to watch up top. I expect Seattle to control this one from start to finish as they get Brad Evens back in the midfield from Gold Cup duties. He will be a difference maker for the Sounders in this one. Throw in the fact that San Jose has yet to really get much out of Darren Huckerby here so far this season makes me go with the visitors. Probably a goal from both Nate Jaqua and Fredy Montero sounds about right here.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 2, San Jose 0

Guillermo Barros Schelotto got the best of Claudio Lopez on Saturday in KC. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

If you blinked this weekend you may have missed some changes in the standings this weekend. A couple clubs continues to fall down the standings while a couple more continue to rise. Also we saw the western race (and the overall race for that matter) tighten up a bit with a Chivas win and a Houston win this weekend.

I believe the groups I’ve mentioned a couple weeks ago in the standings are still shaping up though one or two teams may have shifted around in the groups. The bottom of the barrell is still what it has been for a while now this year.

The Shifting Crew

The biggest move though may be one few noticed due to their game being on at the same time as the US national team’s game on Saturday (yeah, genius plan to schedule it like that). Columbus notched another win in typical Crew fashion this week in Kansas City behind two goals from their MVP and probably current league MVP front-runner Guillermo Barros Schelotto. With GBS scoring instead of setting up the goals this season we are seeing a slightly different Crew side this season but one that is starting to get results.

Sometimes it takes a club a while to get use to a new coach but if you didn’t notice the Crew are back in playoff contention right now. They also have a game to spare on those above them in the east.

Weird part may be though that this club still isn’t healthy here in the least bit this season. But as always good teams figure out a way to get results no matter the lineup. Columbus was still a good team at the start of the season but now they are finishing out games and getting points rather than struggling to get draws. Its hard to keep in mind that they’ve only lost twice this season.

One more thing, when I look at KC I still see a quality team here but I’ll keep saying it, they are missing one to two key elements to make them really good here. I think keeping their attack through Josh Wolff and Claudio Lopez can help but the playmaking in the middle just isn’t there enough. Also the defensive mistakes are really hurting this club. The U-8 style defending on the first goal just won’t get it done. I know Jimmy Conrad is already taking the blame for that goal.

Chivas Rolls Yet Again

It didn’t seem to take much but Chivas USA continues to stay at the top. Give credit once again to Preki for finding the bunch to get it done this week after his lineup was changed a bit due to Sacha Kljestan and Jonathan Bornstein’s US callups and Jesse Marsch’s suspension.  Still the lineup produced what it needed to to get the three points against the Sounders.

Once again give a lot of credit to Zach Thornton in the back for keeping Fredy Montero and company off the boards. He showed some true MVP form in goal Saturday night.

While the Chivas attack isn’t fancy they get the job done. Eduardo Lillingston, Maykel Galindo and Paulo Nagamura combined on the game’s lone goal. I loved the heart those three showed on the play, they pressed hard and got the result. Too many times clubs aren’t pressing enough on goal and that could be a reason why we see so many draws.

I’m also wondering about Seattle now. Is the early success coming to a head and we are seeing this expansion side be an expansion side? Sigi Schmid could use some healthy players to cure that but this group is falling a bit. Maybe a visit from San Jose coming up will help.

Toronto Continues To Stumble

Talk about a bad stretch of play for Toronto FC. A blowout loss a week ago in Houston followed by an embarassing loss in Vancouver in the Canadian Cup. Most thought a home game against a LA squad that would be without Landon Donovan would be the answer to get them back on the winning ways. Instead Edson Buddle made sure his former side didn’t get the three points.

I still don’t know what to make of this win for LA. While it is good I still don’t beleive they have the depth to stay like this without Donovan this summer. Still a win is a win and I am sure this bunch will take it even if it is only their second one of the year.

Toronto on the other hand dips back down into the territory that they shouldn’t be in. The place below the top group of clubs and right in the middle pack that could go either up or down here. Right now they are falling fast though. Maybe this is their usual summer slump too. I still believe this club has plenty of talent to be good in this league but they lack a finisher up top. Until they get a true go-to scorer they will continue to be middle of the pack here.

Houston Rising

Don’t look now but Houston is up there in the standings with Chicago and Chivas. Stuart Holden and company jumped all over Chicago early and held on with their strong defense late to keep Chicago off the board.

Houston continues to impress with their defense, which is the best in the league at the moment in terms of goals against. I think we are also seeing their offense click a good bit here with the play of Holden. He knew he ahd to be a leader this season and he is definitely showing it.

What’s with Chicago at home here this season? Just like last year they struggle at home while playing very well on the road (league best road record 4-0-3). They tend to give up a lot of easy goals at home for some reason and defensively make me question just how deep this club really is.

Yeah, Colorado May Be That Good

I know it was a draw but the fashion the Rapids scored their game-tying goal late in Salt Lake gave me the impression that this club probably can compete without the services of Conor Casey up top. Good thing too since they will be missing him a decent bit this summer.

Omar Cummings was a good go-to filling if you will for Colorado. It’s exactly what the Rapids need out of him when Casey is gone. His speed is there and right now is finishing is starting to be there more for him. If that keeps up the Casey-Cummings duo could be a really fun one to watch this season.

I know RSL had the bulk of chances in this game but finishing continues to ruin what could be a really good club this season. I think once the summer transfer window opens up in a few weeks we will see this club change up a good bit. Jason Kreis has to make some moves to get this club back to where many expected them to be here at the start of the season.

Bottom Clubs Are There For A Reason

I wasn’t at all about to get excited over the recent play of Dallas and San Jose here. While both are starting to slightly come around here this season they are both still not very good. Its sad too since both have the potential to be good but just can’t get over the hump on a few items.

Both San Jose goals were just a product of terrible defense by Dallas here. More of the same if you will from the back four for Dallas, bad give aways in terrible spots.

But for Dallas both goals were very good to see. Great build ups by Jeff Cunninham on the first after a quick restart by David van den Burgh. David Ferrierra bags his first MLS goal (finally) on the play. Brek Shea helped set up the game-tying goal to Kenny Cooper. Just the kind of build up you need from this side, which makes me want to see more of Shea in the lineup here for Dallas.

Still I do like Dallas shifting their lineup a bit by moving Jeff Cunningham to the wing. His pace on the wing is much needed on a hot day like yesterday. The thing though about a guy like Cunningham is he isn’t always there for you out there. Too many times he gives up on plays but at the same time he could have been more involved at times.

The man of this match for me though had to be Ray Burse. For Dallas fans I think it is easy to say Burse has claimed his spot as the starting keeper for the club, even when Dario Sala is healthy again.

New England Lays Into New York

For a while we’ve said that New England will be good once their offense gets going. Well after a four goal effort yesterday I wonder if everyone else is still having doubts about this club like they were a few weeks back. Thing about this club is they’ve seemed to get over the hump a bit in terms of the amount of injuries that they had early on this season and are finally seeing results on the field that we’ve come to expect out of Steve Nicol’s bunch.

Kudos to Taylor Twellman for becoming joining the 100 goal club. No doubt his play on the field is sparking this club in a big way. I still have little doubt that he will go into the books before long as the all-time leading scorer in league history.

So what can we make of New York here? Six goals against in two road losses this week. They still haven’t found the back of the net here and most are certainly calling for Juan Carlos Osorio’s head now. Would it even be the best move for this club going forward? Maybe and maybe not. All I can say is the moves that were made by Osorio haven’t worked and that may be enough for a dismissal. It’s just gone from bad to down right sad there.

Other Notes:

The butts-in-seats look this weekend wasn’t all that bad. Everyone had at least 11K except for the lowly figure in Dallas yesterday. No way in hell there was even 5700+ at Pizza Hut Park. You’d have to count for all the workers at the stadium and the folks playing on some of the other fiels in the area to make that number. Now I know that is technically the number of tickets sold but its a pathetic number nonetheless.

Best crowd this weekend may have been at Rio Tinto Stadium for the Rocky Mountain Cup match between the Rapids and RSL. A near sell-out according to the final attendance numbers.

The Cauldron will be loud tonight with DC in town. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

Two midweek games for week eight. A big night in general if you count Toronto FC’s game in the Canadian Champion tonight against future MLS side Vancouver. But I’ll just stick with the MLS games for the evening to preview.

RSL returns home to host the Galaxy who just scored their first win of the year. And in Kansas City, DC comes to the CAB for a big time clash of two up and coming eastern clubs.

DC United – at – Kansas City Wizards:

1. First place on the line, who steps up for DC on the road?

No Ben Olsen, Marc Burch, or Fred tonight for the boys in black. Guess the need to lead will come on Jamie Moreno who easily stepped into that role last week against Dallas. As long as the offense is rolling fine for DC they could be fine on the road here. Just remember DC only has a single loss on the season here so far and it was at Salt Lake (a place DC and no one else wins at). Also KC is a play DC typically sees success in as well. As long as guys like Moreno step up on the road they should be fine.

2. What does Kansas City need to do to pull this one off?

Remember KC had last week off so they should be nice and rested up for this one. With only a couple guys on the injury list we should see the same roster that Curt Onalfo has been using for the last few weeks on the field tonight. KC needs to get more from guys like Josh Wolff and Davy Arnuad in this one. Defensively they should have their hands full tonight with the likes of Emilio and rookie Chris Ponitus.

Most of what KC needs to do is control the midfield play from the start. On their homefield they’ve done a good job of taking care of the ball so far this season. Doing that and maybe catching a break on offense from time to time could help the Wizards move back into the lead in the eastern conference.

3. Player to keep an eye on.

With no Olsen or Fred in the midfield tonight for DC, I’m going to be watching Santino Quaranta in the midfield. If he can have a nice controlled game like what I’ve see out of him recently DC could be looking at another three points when the night is over. He’s a guy that can really sneak up on people and put home a game winner.

Quick Thoughts:

This game should really be competitive. Both clubs are really starting to come into their own this season and right now I see both contending in the eastern conference. So this game is big for the three points and for some bragging rights as well. Not having Olsen and Fred worry me a bit in the midfield for DC but the loss of Burch is also big to consider. KC has shown they can come back from a couple goals ot grab some points this season so even if they go down early in this one you cannot count KC out of it.

I think in the end these two are pretty evenly matched at this point so I am going with a draw for the night. It should be a tightly contested game in the midfield with a couple breaks for each club that lead to a goal for each. Pontius for DC grabs one and KC gets a goal from Jimmy Conrad off a corner kick to tie it up.

WVH Prediction: KC 1, DC 1

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LA Galaxy – at – Real Salt Lake

1. What can LA do to keep the wins coming here?

First of all they have to figure out a way to get points at Rio Tinto Stadium. A tast that has not been done so far this season. Secondly they still have a lot to prove to the rest of the league here that last week’s win wasn’t a fluke or a lucky win.

It could be a good time for LA to get points at Rio Tinto. RSL will be without midfield leader Javier Morales (suspension) and defensive beast Jamison Olave (suspended) and veteran keeper Nick Rimando (broken finger). Losing those three could be a break for LA to get points as long as Landon Donovan controls the offense and guys like Chris Klien and Eddie Lewis step up.

2. Without Morales in the middle, who leads RSL in this one?

Jason Kries needs a big game out of guys like Kyle Beckerman, Will Johnson and maybe an even bigger game out of veteran Clint Mathis. RSL has plenty of talent in the midfield that should match up well against the Galaxy who are a bit shaky to say the least in the middle of the park. Also it wouldn’t hurt to see a guy like Robbie Findley put it to his old club either for RSL.

3. Player to keep an eye on.

Even though you hate to see Rimando out it does come at a good time for Chris Seitz. We’ve been wondering for a couple years now when he would get his chance in goal and the time is now for the youth national team keeper. A big game from him could go a very long way for this club if Rimando is going to miss any more time this season.

Quick Thoughts:

If RSL had been fully set to go with no injuries or suspension I would have easily thought they’d win this one with little trouble at home. They’ve been so good at home this season so it is hard to even think of picking against them here. However losing Olave and Rimando in the back is pretty big when you have a guy like Donovan coming into town. I think LA will get their chances in this one but RSL will have to battle a little more than they normally would at home for the three points. Donovan gets a goal for the visitors but Mathis and Yura Movsisyan put the game away for RSL.

WVH Prediction: RSL 2, LA 1

Expect a big night out of KC's Josh Wolff. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

Unlike last week where I totally goofed on the date of the game, there is a Thursday night clash this week. That I promise you. This week we get an eastern conference clash between two up and coming teams as New York travels to Kansas City.

New York finally found the net in their last game in the win over RSL, while KC came from behind on the road against Chicago.

As always feel free to leave your score prediction below.

1. Can New York consistently keep up what they started last week at Giants Stadium?

Honestly that is a big question of this club. A year ago they were largely one the worst road clubs in the league, and when you fast forward to this season not much has changed in two road games (two losses and four goals against). But a lot has been said about how this club bounced back last week at home and actually played good soccer for once this season.

Consistent play will be key tonight for New York on the shorter field at CAB in Kansas City. Not to mention the fact that this club hasn’t won a game in KC since 2005. Also double the fact that this starts a big stretch of games for the energy drink club. New York will play the first of four matches in a 10-day stretch tonight, with games against DC on Sunday, at San Jose the following Wednesday in the USOC, and at LA next Saturday.

Getting off to a bad start on a stretch like that can really set a club back.

2. What does KC have to do to keep up their production offensively?

Keep Josh Wolff as a striker. It is as simple as that, when Wolff is free to float around the penalty box he is as dangerous if not more dangerous than most players in this league. I know the Wizards have a long list of guys who’s lead position on the pitch is at striker but Wolff is best when positioned there. Not on the wing. We saw that against Chicago last week, when Wolff was on the wings the Wizards’ offense was stagnent and nearly non-existent. One quick change to move him up top lead to two goals.

3. Player to keep an eye out for.

For New York be be successful in the midfield tonight they need a big game out of Seth Stammler and Jorge Rojas. If either of those two fails to keep possession in New York’s favor it will be a long night on a New York defense that is still a bit shaky. Plus keeping the possession means more chances on Kevin Hartman’s goal for Juan Pablo Angel and Mac Kandji.

Quick Thoughts:

The Wizards are either hot or at least luke warm depending on who you talk to right now. Their offense is clicking like it should and their defense is playing some decent soccer as well. But truth be told their midfield is really been stepping up and Curt Onalfo has been making some big time subs in the second half in recent games.

New York needs this win to keep rolling here but I don’t like their chances on the road. For me its one of those things, if they can prove to me that they can consistently put it together for a full 90 on the road then I will feel better about picking them in games like this. But they haven’t done so yet. I like KC in this one due to another strong performance out of the big four of Hartman, Jimmy Conrad, Claudio Lopez and Josh Wolff.

WVH Prediction: KC 2, NY 1

Davy Arnaud lead the Wizards in scoring a year ago but will need to do more in 2009. (Getty Images)

Last of the season previews for this week, we are about half way done with the previews for 2009. Today we turn our attention to the team in the middle of the country, the Kansas City Wizards. The boys in blue found a way to reach the post season a year ago as one of the wild card births, but with little changes did the Wizard’s improve their chances of repeating their playoff chances? Time to find out.

2008 record and finish: 11-10-9, 42 pts., finished 4th in east, lost in first round of playoffs.

Offseason Player Movement:

Incoming:
Adam Cristman (trade w/NE)
Matt Besler (SuperDraft)
Santiago Hirsig (via signing from San Lorenzo – Argentina)

Outgoing:
Carlos Marinelli (waived)
Ryan Pore (waived)
Ivan Trujillo (waived)
Tyson Wahl (Seattle Sounders FC – Expansion Draft)
Kerry Zavagnin (retired)

Unsigned Draft Picks:
Doug DeMartin
Neal Kitson
Akeem Priestley
Graham Zusi

Questions going into 2009:

1. Have the Wizards done enough this winter to improve their chances in the east?

Let’s look at the bottom line, they bring in Cristman who is a work horse up top when healthy. He will compete for time with Abe Thompson and Herculez Gomez. They got Claudio Lopez back and at a discounted rate from last year’s DP tag. Which is good for their bottom line and probably good since he never really lived up to the DP hype anwyays.

In the midfield they bring in Santiago Hirsig, who is expected to help with ball control. That was always an area I felt the Wizards needed improvement in so this addition should be a good one.

2. Where will the goals come from this year?

Let’s get real honest here about something, the Wizards need a consistent scorer if they want to reach the post season again. They didn’t have a 10 goal scorer last year and were -2 in the goal differential department. Oh yeah and their best defender nearly lead them in overall scoring. This season that won’t cut it to reach the playoffs. Curt Onalfo has to find the best pair up top to give his club a chance here.

Keeping Josh Wolff healthy for a year will certainly help. Davy Arnaud may have to continue carrying part of the load (he lead the club with seven goals a year ago).

3. Player to watch out for in 2009.

Has to be Wolff or Lopez for me. If this club is wanting to return to the playoff promise land one or both of these guys have to have a big season. In a way both have to show that they still have “it”. I think as long as Wolff is healthy he will lead this club in scoring.

Look at the 2009 Schedule:

A decent schedule to navigate for Wizards fans. April and May are pretty tough months though with lots of road games. Out of the ten games in those two months, six of them are away from home. Get off to a rough start and it could be tough to get back into contention.

Thankfully June and July will lighten up in league play.

Only one Thursday-Sunday swing this year…it comes early in the season when they host New York and then travel to play Toronto.

The last month of the year could be rough on the Wizards if they are fighting for a playoff spot. They travel to Houston and Chivas back-to-back and then host two home games to close out the year against Seattle and DC. All teams I expect to be in the playoff hunt.

2009 Season Outlook:

I want to say this club has improved from a year ago but I just don’t see it yet. They never really wowed me last year and it mostly comes down to their offense, or lack there of. If they struggle once again to light up the scoreboard in 2009 you can expect them to be in the bottom part of the standings looking up at the playoff contenders.

Plus if this club struggles early I wouldn’t be all that shocked to see a coaching change. I like Onalfo but if he doesn’t get some sparks going in this club I would imagine the ownership group (which is a good one too by the way) won’t want a struggling team opening a new stadium next year. I fully see them making a change if they struggle.

With the way things have gone this winter in the east and even in the west, a wild card spot will be tough to come by for a club like KC. They will need some luck and some magic to pull one off. I felt they got some luck a year ago and if they can keep that up into 2009 you could see them surprise people once again and reach the post season.

Not a lot of changes at the top of the overall voting list.In fact that top three remain:

1. David Beckham
2. Landon Donovan
3. Cuauhtemoc Blanco

Once you get by the top three the positions break down pretty easily. You can also tell which fan groups are voting like crazy here for this game. Mostly the home fans in Toronto wanting their own in the line up as the All-Stars take on West Ham United. Its also interesting to see Toronto’s main rival Columbus have a few players on this list. The Crew are having a solid season so far and their players deserve the nod in my book.

Goalkeepers:

• Greg Sutton
• Jon Busch
• Matt Reis

Defenders:

• Frankie Hejduk
• Marvell Wynne
• Jim Brennan
• Jimmy Conrad

Midfielders:

• David Beckham
• Cuauhtemoc Blanco
• Amado Guevara
• Dwayne De Rosario
• Guillermo Barros Schelotto

Forwards:

• Landon Donovan
• Danny Dichio
• Juan Pablo Angel
• Jeff Cunningham
• Alejandro Moreno

Am I surprised by any of this news? Not really. The one shocker to me may be Juan Pablo Angel getting the votes. He was the MVP in last year’s game but he has been hampered by injuries and clearly isn’t as effective as last year because of those injuries.

Other than that I’m not totally surprised by it. I would like to see Kenny Cooper or Edson Buddle get some votes.

Some are still asking for my line-up, that will come later on once voting is complete on July 2. Remember, the online fan voting will comprise one quarter of the All-Star First XI selections, with coaches and general managers (25 percent), players (25 percent) and media (25 percent) all getting a say in who is named to the First XI, which will consist of one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders and two forwards.